Fabricio Coloccini

Magpies officials have been locked in talks with Coloccini's representatives this week after the defender stated his desire to return to the club where his father, Osvaldo, is currently a youth coach.

However, on the day Newcastle unveiled new signing Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, seen by many as a potential replacement for Coloccini, San Lorenzo stated via their official Twitter feed that their move for the former Deportivo La Coruna centre-back was off.

The Argentinian club tweeted: "Finally, after long negotiations, we announce that Fabricio Coloccini will not join the roster of San Lorenzo.

"It is not possible to release the Newcastle player.. and therefore the club will look for another alternative to strengthen the defence."

Coloccini's future remains unclear given his desire, stated by his father, to return to Argentina for "personal reasons". Newcastle have refused to comment on the situation regarding Coloccini.

But boss Alan Pardew, whose transfer market frustration has significantly eased this week, must now hope he can at least persuade Coloccini to stay at St James's Park until the end of the season.

Former Montpellier captain Yanga-Mbiwa met his new team-mates for the first time today after completing his reported £6.7million move from the French club - with more compatriots set to follow.

Bordeaux striker Yoan Gouffran and Nancy defender Massadio Haidara are both poised to confirm deals, while a fourth French-based player, Moussa Sissoko, has also been strongly linked.

Yanga-Mbiwa, who conceded the club's current contingent of French players had helped him make the decision to move to the north-east, is excited by the prospect of linking up with Gouffran.

Yanga-Mbiwa said: "I played against him several times in the French League and is the sort of player who makes it very hard work for defenders.

"He runs deep to collect the ball and he gets forward and gives the chance to counter-attack. If he came to the club he would be very useful for us."

The 23-year-old Yanga-Mbiwa guided Montpellier to an unexpected Ligue 1 title last season and is keen to assert his influence to help the Magpies out of their current strife.

Yanga-Mbiwa said: "I will do everything I can to help team spirit and make sure we are acting as one from the first minute until the last.

"Last year at Montpellier nobody expected that we would win the league but we had the mentality and solidity to do it with a good team spirit.

"The Premier League is the biggest league in the world and one of those leagues that everybody watches. One of the reasons I came here was to find out how good I am and to fulfil one of my dreams."